decided to start a new thread to stop clogging up the news in feb one.
so rjc, you say it could take someone 5 years to train up to doing 24 hours a week from scratch. but what about someone like me or you who is already at a higher then average level of fitness?
also, while i respect your educated opinion on the subject, i personally don't think it would take that long for someone from scratch to work up to that level of training. i've only been racing competitively for a couple of years and maybe only one actually knowing what i am doing (or at least thinking i know), i can't train anywhere near full time yet i'm confident that if i had the time i could manage a 24 hour taining week if it was my full time job. don't forget, in my scenario training is their full time job. with a fully laid out training programme, regular visits to the gym i think they would quickly be able to increase their training hours, even if at first it involves a bit of gym work.
i don't know, it could be either, thats why i'm asking.
if it was me, i'd say that after 5 years of full time training, even after starting from scratch, the rider would easily manage more then 24 hours a week.
maybe i'm wrong, and i'm sure that someone somewhere has evidence to prove it. but i think that the human body is quite quick to adapt. remember, the scenario is that this is their full time job, no other commitments. even as a complete novice. they could ride for an hour in the morning, do a bit of gym work and then do another hour in the afternoon with a good rest and meal in-between. thats at least 3 hours a day, multipied by 5 = at least 15 hours a week to start off with.
i think that after a year of full time training a complete novice would be able to train at 20-24 hours a week easily.
1) I said 24 hours as an AVERAGE per week.
2) I said, email a pro if you want to actually know what they do.
3) It was an example based on what you need to do to reach elite status in the UK, which, for all intents and purposes is semi-pro.
4) A member of my team, gained his elite license last year. That was his second year racing. However, he's highly talented, and gave up his job to train full time. He only does 15 hours a week during the season. (training wise) and 2 races a week (so add another 6 hours max).
5) If you want to find something out, like how far you can push your body "easily" to train 20-24 hours a week, try it. I dare you. It's a lot harder than it sounds.
6) Yes, you are right, the human body does adapt (thats what homeostatis means), however, it can only adapt so fast. And training at such a high level for a novice would, in my opinion, absolutely shatter their world.
how long does your friend train in the winter? and of the 15 hours a week he does in the summer, how much of that is gym work, or cardio-vascular work or time with a masseuse or time spent actively resting? is that included or extra?
obviously i don't know your friend and so can't really say anything in any confidence, but if he has completely quit his job then then i would have thought his training would take up more of a full time role then 15 hours. who is he by the way? maybe i'll read about him this season. does he ride for your team or someone else?
obviously i have no intention of training full time to try to become a pro, i haven't got the time. it is just a rhetorical question about whether or not it would be possible.
and about the training shattering their world. surely with a well thought out programme with the right rest periods and fuelling then it should be possible to continue to increase your fitness over the 5 years without over-doing it. don't forget, it is their full time job. take my example of them starting with 3 hours a day including gym work. the working day is 8 hours. surely doing three 1 hour sessions 5 days a week with 5 hours resting and fuelling in between isn't going to be too stressful, even for a beginner. the sessions aren't going to be that hard to start off with. obviously they won't be doing 1 minute intervals in their first week
rjc is completely right you have to start off slow and build it up thats why that muppet with the boonen quote is stupid because people who are at the top of stage races have been training for over 10years and its not going to happen overnight its takes several years of training.
Smitho wrote:
rjc is completely right you have to start off slow and build it up thats why that muppet with the boonen quote is stupid because people who are at the top of stage races have been training for over 10years and its not going to happen overnight its takes several years of training.
why are you getting personal and calling names like a little kid? this is a forum and everyone is free to express an opinion and then defend it. i've argued my opinion with good humour considering the insults that have been thrown at me. if you don't have the balls to say it to my face then keep you opinions to youself.
i never said boonen could win the tour, i said if he has the power to sprint that well why can't he adapt that skill to hills and mountains.
it was also said by someone that good climbers are naturally talented. to which i replied so if boonen was born in the basque country he'd still be a terrible mountain climber and a good cobbler? of course not, he would be better in the mountains because thats what he was brought up doing. to my recollection no-one replied to that so i assume that no-one had another smart-arse comment to make about it.
i'm not trying to get into an argument, i'm just generating a discussion. thats what forums are for. so grow up smitho.
